


The Things We Don't Tell Red

by Kyu_Momo



Series: The Things We Don't Tell Red [1]
Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Red's a grumpy dad, Sigma's acting, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 21:21:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30112215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyu_Momo/pseuds/Kyu_Momo
Summary: “No sudden movements,” Zero warned. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”“Mmhm,” Axl murmured.He’s heard this song and dance before, in another time, in another place, under very different circumstances.
Series: The Things We Don't Tell Red [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2215881
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14





	The Things We Don't Tell Red

The blaring of the alarms screeched to a halt and many cheers rang out. Red smirked to himself and greeted his fellow Hunters on their way to the canteen.

“Hah! Too easy!”

“Hurry up you two!”

Red watched a hunter and navigator pair run passed him, bemused.

And yet…

That nagging feeling was back.

Red sighed.

_Something was wrong._

The Latest Maverick threat had already been reduced to scrap. Casualties notwithstanding, the mission had been a success. Red had been on his way to join in on the usual after-mission celebration, navigating the halls and greeting the few personnel still milling about as he went, when the gaudy red paneling of the alarm hallway circuit caught his eye and he stopped. The alarm had long since ceased that infernal screeching, but Red glared at the deactivated red panel anyway, frowning in thought. Red _still_ felt restless, still riding high on adrenaline as if he were still in battle even now.

He shook his head to clear it but the restlessness did not abate. Red took a breath, angry at himself. This was ridiculous. There was _nothing_ actually wrong.

“Sir?”

Red turned his head and nodded in greeting. “Warfly,” He said. “I take it everything is in order.”

Warfly had gotten better at not running his mouth off at every given opportunity, but he still lacked the kid’s ease at keeping his facial tells in check. Red caught the twitch of the fish Reploid’s eye, a surefire sign that he had been about to roll his eyes. “Of course, Sir.”

“Has Axl reported back in yet?”

Warfly didn’t bother to hide his sneer, “He sent a message a minutes ago. Said he was gonna be late.”

“How late?”

“The Hell should I know? I’m not his keeper!” Warfly scoffed. “If he can’t even handle a simple—“

…In other words, Warfly probably went off on the kid again and Axl had cut him off or gone radio silent. Red internally sighed.

“It was an _A rank_ mission and you know it.” Red cut him off before he go on another of his tirades. Warfly had always butted heads with Red Alert’s youngest hunter from the very beginning, and while Red had understood Warfly’s misgivings at the time—Red had, after all, essentially dumped a complete _unknown_ on them, Warfly’s stubborn refusal to cut the kid slack after the boy had long since proven himself was still tiresome to deal with on a good day. “Recon and infiltration takes time, doubly so with so many unknown factors thrown in to the mix.”

“He shouldn’t insist on higher level missions if he can’t complete them in a reasonable time! If you’d sent _me_ it’d be done already! How long are you going to let that—“

Red prided himself on letting his fellow Hunter’s speak their minds to him, but Warfly’s _obsession_ was grating his last nerve.

“Dismissed.”

“— _little shit_ get away with this!”

“ _Dismissed_.”

Warfly hissed, but finally relented and saluted. The fish Reploid took several hissing breaths and then turned his head angrily, the red glint of the alarm circuit reflecting off his eyes briefly before he stalked down the hall.

Red watched him go then let out an irritated huff and shook his head. He’d been doing that a lot more lately.

Deciding that celebration could wait, he made his way back to his office and sat down after pulling up a chair. He glanced over at his desk briefly, noting the stacks of paperwork strewn about. He sighed, got up, and unceremoniously flopped onto his desk chair, grabbing a stack of reports as he went. It was true that Axl had pushed to go on more higher ranked missions lately, but it wasn’t anything the kid couldn’t handle. There was no reason to be worried.

_None._

Red looked up as someone rapped on his office door.

“Enter, “ He called.

The Professor leaned in with an apologetic smile. Without looking up from the reports, Red waved him in.

The professor may have been a relatively new addition to Red Alerts Navigator branch, but the Professor knew Red well enough to know by now that Red was listening.

“Sorry to keep bothering you like this, but I was wondering if I might have a few moment’s of Axl’s time.” 

Red hummed noncommittally as he finished one report and swept up another.

“I’ve been looking all over for him but I still can’t seem to find the lad!” Red looked up as the Professor almost knocked over one Red’s file cabinets on his way to the chairs. The Reploid caught the offending drawers before they could spill their contents all over the floor before pushing it back in its place along the wall. He placed one hand on his bald head and smiled sheepishly.

Honestly, the Reploid was very intelligent and knowledgeable, but admittedly, very clumsy. Anteator, Red Alert’s unofficial librarian, still came to Red on occasion just to rant on their inability to switch to computer filing from paper filing due to lack of funds when the Professor knocked over yet another filing cabinet with his bulk.

The Professor took one of the larger seats near the furthest wall, the bulk of his frame causing the solid metal to groan in protest. The Professor’s frame was rather large as far as Reploid size spec’s went, but it’s not like Red was one to judge. Most Reploids didn’t get to choose their own bodies in those times, after all, and it certainly hadn’t gotten much better after the Mavericks started wreaking havoc. That abnormal size alongside the intimidating facial features and the deep voice had sent up red flags in the Intelligence department at first, but after extensive background checks from the head investigator came back clean, Red let it slide. Stereotypes only had basis if the actions matched and so far the Professor had been nothing but helpful, despite the accidents.

“Axl is currently away on a mission.” Red said, looking back down at the next report.

“ _Again_?” The Professor seemed to wilt in his chair. “Honestly, this is the fourth time this week… I keep telling the lad I need to speak with him and yet he’s always so busy!”

“I needn’t remind you that these are trying times. Maverick attacks have grown _more_ frequent, not less so.”

“I know! I just can’t shake the feeling that he’s doing it on purpose…”

Red looked up at him, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

The professor rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. “I know… I _know_ it’s ridiculous, he can’t help that there’s so many Maverick attacks in such heavily guarded areas, but I can’t help how I feel. This study is important to me! There’s _so many_ DNA samples I still need to catalog and I can’t do it if he’s never even here!”

The large Reploid sighed. “I’m sorry for bothering you with this, but… is there any chance you could ask him to come see me when he gets back?”

“He’ll probably be exhausted—“

“Oh, I’m well aware! Poor lad needs time to rest, of course! It will only take a few moments of his time! I promise I’ll make it quick.”

Red sighed. “I’ll pass it along to him, but don’t get your hopes up. The kid’s been pushing himself too hard, lately.”

“Oh, wonderful, thank you, Sir! I really do appreciate it!”

They exchanged a few more pleasantries before the professor noted the time and left in a rush. Red watched him leave with a frown.

Axl _had_ been pushing himself much harder, true, but Red very much doubted that the Professors enthusiastic research of Axl was to blame. Axl always strived to prove himself useful ever since Red had taken him in and nursed him back to health. Axl had been more determined lately, more driven to take down heavily guarded Mavericks that Red had put on the back burner due to resource constraints. Damn kid must have known Red had been struggling these days…

Red chuckled.

Damn it…

_The kid could handle himself. There was no reason to be worried,_ Red reminded himself. _None at all._

And yet that nagging feeling refused to leave Red in peace.

“Dammit.” Red huffed. He was getting sentimental in his old age.

He reached up to his temple and patched in to his comms. “Come in, Axl.”

A minute or so of tense silence and static, but when that familiar voice chimed in, Red felt himself breathe a sigh of relief. **_“…I’m kind of busy, Red.”_**

“I’m aware.” Red leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. “Status report.”

Axl huffed. **_“I should have gone radio silent after all.”_**

“Status report.” Red repeated, rolling his eyes. Then he added fondly,“… _Brat_.”

**_“Heh. You know it, Red. I’m in, by the way, but the security’s been a pain in the ass so I’ve had to go slower than I’m used to... Typical overblown layout, damned antsy lookouts, dumb as brick sentries, the usual... Also—“_ **

Red listened to Axl’s report with rapt attention, proud and alarmed in equal measure. Apparently, security had been changed at the last minute and instead of an drawn out route to the control room, it had become a drawn out, _maze_ with cat and mouse thrown in for good measure. Axl finished and Red noted the catch in his voice as he neared the end. Red’s eyes narrowed, his suspicions confirmed.

The kid was exhausted and trying to hide it from him. _Damn kid_.

The professor would have to wait, after all. Axl needed a long rest after this. Red would put his foot down when the kid came to ask for another mission, Red swore to himself.

**_“…Damn it.”_** The kid sighed.

“Axl?”

 ** _“Change of plans again. I hit a snag. Dammit, why did it have to be_** _him **?”**_ Axl sighed. ** _“Hey, Red? Ever had a blueberry glare at you?”_**

Axl continued on, breathless, and Red became more and more confused. Axl, realizing that he was babbling, suddenly went silent. Red raised an eyebrow, suddenly alarmed.

_Something was wrong._

_Sloppy._ Was Red’s first thought. Axl liked to play up the childishness at times, but _never_ with Red, and never during a mission.

Axl wielded subtlety like a _knife_ when he was on the hunt.

Red quickly learned that the boy’s smile was a weapon he often hid behind before he went for the kill. Carefree laughter to seal the deal, a non-sequitur thrown in to the conversation to confuse the target. Make them scoff and underestimate the child as that child then focused on the dent in the armor plating between neck and clavicle, the wear and tear on the goggles and the eye sockets behind them, calculating trajectory, the angle he’d need to make the shot, how quick they’d bleed out…

How many had the boy killed while they were still mid-smile? They laughed and then died on their next breath.

How many times had Red seen that exact aftermath as the boy closed those still staring, unseeing eyes and shrugged, pretending to be unaffected? How many times had he seen that mask morph into something else when he thought no one could see him; the fake smile drawing into a calculating line, the mischievous glitter in those eyes fading into that dull void of a stare that Red still dreaded seeing?

_You okay, Kid?_ Red had asked that first day.

 _Why wouldn’t I be?_ Had been the cheerful reply, the child desperate to be useful, scared to disappoint his savior. But Red had seen the boy’s eyes when he thought that Red had looked away.

It had taken years for the Boy to begin to trust Red enough to stop downplaying his intelligence and hiding behind that mask when he was alone with him. It had taken years for the boy to trust him enough to let down his walls when he was with Red and Red cherished that feeling, to know that Axl finally _trusted him_.

And yet Axl was on guard. With _Red_.

A byproduct of having pushed himself to exhaustion while in enemy territory despite Red constantly telling him not to push himself? And yet this felt different then the recon mindset that Axl usually adopted when he was on the hunt.

Red realized what it was and hoped he was wrong.

It was panic.

Axl was panicking. Panicking but _not trusting Red to have his back._

Something was definitely wrong.

“How badly are you hurt?” Red demanded.

The silence was damning and confirmed Red’s fear. Was the boy compromised?

“Color!” Red barked.

A Code that Red had deemed necessary after that disastrous mission two years ago. A code that could have saved Axl a lot of anguish if Red had had the foresight to implement it earlier. Axl’s abilities had opened up insane potential for stealth missions that Red Alert had simply not been equipped for before he had found the boy. At the time, with events moving so fast and Axl’s continued striving to train grow, It had slipped Red’s mind.

“ ** _I… Dammit. Guess I’m more tired then I thought. Sorry, Red… I’m okay,_** _really **. I’ve just had a long day.”**_

“Your color. _Now.”_

**_“Green! It’s Green! I’m_ ** _fine **, Red. Really. I didn’t mean to--oof!“**_

Red jolted out of his seat. “Axl!”

There was a few tense moments where all Red could hear was static and then the line reconnected.

“… **mother** _fucker_!” Axl hissed, coughing roughly.

More static on the comms crackled in his ear and Red started pacing. “Report!”

**“I… Red...” Axl chuckled. “You know how much I missed hearing your grumpy old voice?”**

Red sucked in a breath, fear roiling deep in his gut.

“Color! Now!”

There was a few moments where all Red could hear was Axl’s panting breaths before Axl sighed and said. **_“Yellow 2.”_**

Yellow: Badly wounded, captured or about to be captured. 2 meant the latter.

Red sucked in a deep breath, struggling to stay calm even as his Soldier’s mind quickly went into auto-pilot.

 _Focus_ , Red reminded himself. The Kid needed him.

“Just sit tight Kid. I’m coming.”

**_“Don’t.”_ **

****

Red froze mid stride on his way to the door, struggling to remain calm.

 ** _“Please don’t. I’ll be fine. I’ve been doing this my entire life, Red. I’ll be okay!_** **_Just listen to me, please?”_**

**_“Axl—“_ **

**_“Please, just…”_** Axl sighed brokenly and that sound alone stole the breath from Red’s lungs. **_“Dammit, this is such a mess.”_**

****

Red could hear the sounds of Axl’s labored breathing. The kid was running, by the sound of it.

 ** _“I didn’t really think this through.”_** Axl admitted. **_“I…. this whole situation is just_** _impossible **, you know? And I kind of… no, No I** didn’t **handle it very well. I’m… I’m** not **handling it. It’s** too much **, Red… I think I’m going insane.”**_

****

To Hell with this. 

“Everything’s gonna be alright, kid. Trust me. It’s gonna be okay, you’ll see.” Red said. And he knew the kid well enough to know that he was probably beating himself up over getting himself caught, so he continued quickly, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of either. You’ve done _well_ , you hear me? I’m _proud_ of you. And I sure as hell am not leaving you there to rot. Sit tight. I’m on my way.”

And he was. Red had sent out the emergency signal and that screeching alarm was already blaring loud and clear as he marched with purpose to the command room.

 ** _“Aw, dammit, he’s here already?”_** Axl’s exclamation cut off with a scream and Red clenched his teeth, bracing himself as he waited for the static to abate.,

 ** _“Agh… fuck… I don’t have much time.”_** Red could hear the kid wheezing. **_“Red, you trust me, right?”_**

“Of course I do, kid.” Red snapped. As if he had to ask!

**_“C…can you do something for me then? It’s… dangerous but I need it to be done. I’ve fucked this up too much to do it myself. Panicked… Couldn’t... Geez… So much for playing the long game… Fuck, I’m rambling again.”_ **

“Ask.” Red said without hesitation. “What do you need, kid?”

**_“Kill the Professor.”_ **

****

Red almost missed a step and quickly braced himself on the rails before he could fall.

“What?”

**_“More specifically, take him to the library—that run down room in the back you refuse to fix, y’know the one with the file cabinets— Get him there, get Anteator to babble theories at him or something, then cut his head off when his back is turned. Hallway’s a good choke point. Fucker’s got mad reflexes though, so you might need Gungaroo to frag him and the room in advance just to be sure. Kill him and destroy the body.”_ **

****

Axl coughed raggedly, struggling to catch his breath.

Red took a few breaths himself. “Explain.”

**_“His real name is Sigma. He’s been spreading the Maverick virus for years now, and Red Alert is next. Look, I know this seems like it’s coming out of thin air, but it’s true. Please, Red, Just trust me!”_ **

There was a sudden, screeching sound in the static, raising in pitch and intensity until Red flinched at the final shriek it gave as the signal died.

**Elsewhere, 7 hours later:**

Red listened to the scouts' report, fighting to keep his expression neutral.

They had arrived at the coordinate's of Axl's mission to find the building in ruins.

The Mavericks had been dead for hours.

**_Elsewhere, 7 Hours ago:_ **

Ignoring the sudden pain in his head, Axl rolled with his fall’s momentum, coming up and firing in one smooth movement. Zero deflected the shots but Axl was already moving, evading. Axl was counting the seconds, he could hear that telltale whine of X’s buster charging…

3…2…1… he ducked the shot, ignoring the metal tearing into his back as it was disintegrated and he kicked off the adjacent machine to get the height he needed to jump through the hole that had been created. The machinery whined and hissed as Zero cut through it to get to him, smoke and steam spilling and blocking out the light. Zero’s Z saber could cut through anything, but it still took precious seconds of opening the wall large enough for both of them to get through. Axl had always hated his smaller size but for once it seemed to be working to his advantage in these cramped quarters. Axl heard Zero’s aggravated cursing behind him as he fled. At any other time, it would have been amusing.

Axl couldn’t think. If he stopped to think about this, about who was attacking him, and why, it would _break him._ The pain in his head could wait, the dizziness, the confusion, the fatigue, it could _all wait._ This wasn’t happening. This was _impossible._

 _“_ Alia, you copy? Intruder heading north, northeast...”

If he tried to explain, would they listen? Zero still wasn’t going for kill shots, Axl noticed. X’s shot was off by 6 inches as well and both of them were still trying to talk.. This could be salvaged couldn’t it, if he just surrendered and tried to explain… He could play this. He could pretend. He could play the long game and try to fix thing. Try to keep them smiling…

No.

No, he couldn’t.

Just thinking about the looks they would give him, the disbelief. The _distrust_ , as he tried to explain the insanity... Seeing that look again on the faces of his mentors, his _best friends_ after all they’d been through together. How would he even explain this? Wouldn’t they just label him a maverick? Axl sure as Hell would if some stranger broke into Maverick Headquarters and then started babbling about time travel when he was finally caught.

And X… This was when he’d already found the fighting, the never ending violence unbearable and had given up, throwing himself into a support role. No, Axl couldn’t do this to him again. Axl’s failures… the whole mess with Red Alert and stupidity in just giving all his DNA data to Sigma, causing so many deaths, Red’s death, everything spiraling out of control. The wars, X’s hope fading, Zero losing himself, forgetting, X sacrificing his body, their pointless deaths… And for _what_? What had it all been for? For him to wake up and relive the worst days of his life again? To have to watch his old mentors give everything they have with nothing to show for it and no end in sight? _What was the point?_

His friends were dead and gone. Zero’s laugh, always ruffling Axl’s hair after a hunt, falling asleep in X’s office, relaxing, content.. X asleep at his desk again, Axl having to drag him back to recharge. Zero having to drag _both_ of them back to recharge… X’s fond smiles. Their _trust_.

Axl missed them so much, but they were long gone.

Axl was alone.

If he closed his eyes long enough, he’d be back in the ruins of Neo Arcadia, still piling the bodies high and scrounging around in the dirt for scraps while the world his friends tried to save fell apart around him.

And now here he was, in a world that still had breathable air, water, grass… It still had _life._

At first Axl had made plans. He could change things and everything would be fine. X and Zero would be alive and happy, Axl would make sure of it. He could change things for the better and all he had to do was play the long game and pretend everything was as it had been back then. Everything had been screaming at him to run away and never look back. But then he’d seen Red and suddenly he’d felt _hope_ for the first time in decades. He could do this.

Infiltrate. Divide. Conquer.

And then he saw Sigma and suddenly playing the long game became too much to bear.

He had panicked.

No time to waste, Axl infiltrated Maverick headquarters. Planted the seeds. Get in, get out. Easy peasy.

But then Axl he had seen _them_ and heard their voices for the first time in _decades…_ and everything had fallen apart. Something inside of him had just… snapped.

Not again. _Axl couldn’t do this again._

“…stop thinking.” Axl muttered to himself. That whining sound again, Axl noted, and started his count. He threw himself to the floor as another of X’s charged shots shot past him.

It had been 3 inches off this time, shrapnel notwithstanding, Axl mused. X still wasn’t going for fatal shots. Then again, it was _X._

This was still salvageable… Maybe. No. No, he really couldn’t do this again…

“ _Stop thinking_.” Axl hissed, blinking the collected liquid out of his eyes. Damned steam.

“Stop right there!”

Axl’s eyes snapped up to X and their eyes met briefly. Axl flinched in that moment and that was all it took: he saw the light from Zero’s saber a split second too late, fast enough to avoid the first strike, too slow to dodge the second. Zero’s Z saber came down on his leg and Axl couldn’t stop the cry that ripped from his throat. He landed hard, his arm coming out just in time to save him from smashing his head into the floor. His arms trembled with exertion as he fought to keep himself from crumbling.

“End of the line.” Zero said and had his blade leveled at Axl’s throat before the gunner could blink. Axl stared up at him, panting, too numb to feel fear.

“Yeah.” He croaked. “Looks that way.”

“No sudden movements.” Zero warned. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

“Mmhm,” Axl murmured.

He’s heard this song and dance before, in another time, in another place, under very different circumstances.

X walked up and Axl’s eyes followed his movement as he walked in front and looked down at him. “You have a _lot_ of explaining to do. What were you doing at Maverick Headquarters, for starters, and how did you even get in?”

_What, like it’s hard?_ Axl almost blurted out but stopped himself in time. Damned exhaustion was messing with his brain-to-mouth filter. “Do you want the long version or the short version?”

Zero snorted. “Start talking.”

Axl’s fight with keeping himself upright chose that moment to fail, and his elbows gave out.

To Axl’s surprise, X grabbed him before his head could meet the floor.

The trembling in his limbs increased and his body began fighting between the urge to flinch away or to lean into his touch. He stared at X with mute surprise.

That kindness. Honestly, X really was too kind for his own good. Axl caught Zero’s disgruntled expression and couldn’t hold back his startled laugh.

“Thanks for catching me, but you _really_ should be more careful. What if I had tried something, hm?” Axl murmured, closing his eyes.

* * *

The intruder went limp in his grasp and X looked down.

X watched him for a moment, expression unreadable, before he sighed and turned to look at Zero... “Let’s head back.”

“Yeah.” Zero agreed.

Once the cuffs were secured, X turned on his Comm and began reporting the situation to Alia while Zero secured the intruder’s weapons.

“What a mess…”

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh, I SHOULD be working on my other fic, but the brain storming hell got tiring and I've gotten stuck in the megaman fandom again with no end in sight. This plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone either so I finally gave up, sat down, and wrote it just to get it to shut up XD. I'm not that great of a writer. Imagining scenes is easy, actually writing them down is like running into a brick wall sometimes lol
> 
> Micro Edit: I changed the colors because the original scene I was going to do felt like it revealed too much, too early, so I've changed it to just Yellow. Orange can come later. (*evil laugh*)
> 
> Still, I had fun writing it, so maybe someone will have fun reading it anyway.  
> Stay safe and take care out there!


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